Genome-wide and molecular characterization of the () gene family in rice under drought and salt stress.

Rice plants experience various biotic (such as insect and pest attack) and abiotic (such as drought, salt, heat, and cold ) stresses during the growing season, resulting in DNA damage and the subsequent losses in rice production. / is known to be involved in DNA replication and repair. In animals and yeast are well characterized because it has the abilities of both helicase and nuclease, it plays a crucial role in DNA replication in the nucleus and mitochondrial genomes. However; they are not fully examined in plants due to less focused on plants damage repair. To fill this research gap, the current study focused on the genome-wide identification and characterization of genes, along with analyses of their transcriptional expression, duplication, and phylogeny in rice. Overall, 17 members were reported to be found on eight different chromosomes (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11). Among these chromosomes (Chr), Chr4 contained a maximum of six genes. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the gene members were clustered into three different groups. Furthermore, the conserved domains, gene structures, and -regulatory elements were systematically investigated. Gene duplication analysis revealed that had an evolutionary relationship with with and with Moreover, results showed that the conserved domain (AAA_11 superfamily) were present in the genes, which belongs to the DEAD-like helicase superfamily. In addition, to understand the post-transcriptional modification of genes, miRNAs were predicted, where 653 miRNAs were reported to target 17 genes. The results indicated that at the maximum, and were targeted by 74 miRNAs each, and was less targeted (20 miRNAs). The three-dimensional (3D) structures of 17 OsDNA2 proteins were also predicted. Expression of members was also carried out under drought and salt stresses, and conclusively their induction indicated the possible involvement of in DNA repair under stress when compared with the control. Further studies are recommended to confirm where this study will offer valuable basic data on the functioning of genes in rice and other crop plants.